T.I.
King
Grand Hustle/Atlantic
· You will hear T.I.’s gangsta rap blasting out of clubs, cars, dorm rooms, clothing stores and booming systems everywhere for the next few months. At least it doesn’t suck.
Whatever your sentiments regarding gangsta rap – whether it’s played out, modern minstrelsy or just keepin’ it real – 25-year-old Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr. is currently its prime exponent and a force to be reckoned with. King sold more than a half-million copies in its first week (coinciding with the theatrical release of his flick ATL), and 2004’s Urban Legend is still hangin’ in the Billboard Hip Hop/R&B Top 50. Although "King of the South" may be a self-bestowed title, he’s definitely a main contender.
Kicking off with a bombastic intro à la "King Back," Just Blaze’s slab of horn-punctuated ’70s cop show funk, T.I. makes sure there’s no question in your mind that he’s comin’ to claim that crown at any and all cost. What follows is a parade of bangers, ballers and some straight-up bombs that barely loses momentum along its way. Though mostly blunts, blow, stunts ‘n’ hos, for all his braggadocio and beefin,’ T.I. has a knack for neither glamourizing nor criticizing the lifestyle overtly, mostly remaining neutral in his self-assured, laidback flow. A closer listen reveals how well he uses this ambiguity, especially on the paean to fallen friends, "Live in the Sky," and the low-slung, smooth-as-goose-with-the-avian-flu-shit drug funk of "I’m Straight."
More so than his nimble and spot-on delivery, T.I.’s ear for beats is the main reason the disc stands out as a cut above the current crop of crunk-by-numbers and droves of dirty south duplicators, with the roster including Swizz Beats, The Neptunes, Keith Mack, Nick Fury, DJ Toomp and Mannie Fresh, responsible for the infectious bounce of recent single "Front Back" (the video of which, along with interviews and concert footage, is included on the bonus DVD). Nods also go to Grand Hustle house producer Kevin "Khao" Cates for keeping his cuts from falling into filler category. Thankfully, skits are few and far between and actually contribute to the tracks, with "The Breakup" being one of the funniest fly-on-the-wall accounts of domestic disputes ever recorded.
All in all it may not be the stone-cold classic headz have been waitin’ for this kid to come out with since he kicked Trap Muzik in 2003, but in a cultural climate where anything slightly better than mediocre is hailed as greatness, you could pretty much consider King as meeting the criteria. That’s why, since Fast Forward don’t allow half-steppin’, this one gets rounded up instead of down.
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